Shouldn’t we do whatever it takes to convert non-Catholics?

Full Question

Let’s make it simple. Non-Catholics need to become Catholics, period. This is urgent, so why not speak urgently? If it takes being tough, I say be tough.

Answer

For some folks, “being tough” translates as “being rude.” Go ahead and be rude if you like, but you won’t find yourself winning converts. If rudeness is what Catholicism produces as its best fruit, why should anyone sign up? We shouldn’t be mamby-pamby, of course, but we should be kind and firm at once. We mustn’t compromise beliefs, but we shouldn’t use the rack either.

1 comment

San Dominic Guzman, the founder of the Dominican Order, made the goal of his life to convert the heretics of his time (ca. 1200 AD) known as the Cathars or Albigensians in France, Switzerland and Northern Italy, to the true Catholic faith. So he went with all his passion and love towards Jesus Christ and his Church and bombarded those heretics with arguments, citing bible verses, Church dogmas, predicting the penalty of hell, if they did not convert, bashing them around with rethorics and heavy body language, using all of his talents with no avail. After years of missionary work, being tough against those guys, he had little or no results. Desperate, he was praying Jesus for help, asking Him and himself what was he doing wrong, when the Virgin Mary (1214 AD) appeared to him, and told him, that it is with gentle words, with a loving approach, with mercyful deeds, that he would have success, and that is when he received the Rosary from the Virgin Mary herself. She told him to pray the rosary constantly, in order to achieve the conversion of those heretics. And so it happened. He changed his style, went gentle about the whole issue, said the rosary every day, and the hearts and ears of the heretics opened up to his words and converted by the thousands. Not bad, I say. Jesus said to many other people, that our duty is, yes, to give the message, sow the seed, but it is up to Him, it is His job, to decided when, how and where they will open their hearts to Him. Finally, it is His merit, it is for His Grace that people convert, not ours. That alone is a big lesson of humility for all of us. So relax, say what you have to say in simple, truthful manner, with gentleness and love, and don’t worry if you do not see results…. that is Jesus’ job.